Sharman Joshi has received great acclaim for his acting skills, but it is only with Vidhu Vinod Chopra’s Ferrari Ki Sawari that the actor will don a new role— making his debut as a lead actor.

Sharman Joshi has received great acclaim for his acting skills, but it is only with Vidhu Vinod Chopra’s Ferrari Ki Sawari that the actor will don a new role— making his debut as a lead actor. Sharman, however, doesn’t feel any pressure to perform differently now. “I just go out there and enjoy my work. I’m happy doing what I’m doing. All the other things that follow or are attached to it are just byproducts,” says Sharman, who will start shooting for the film by the end of this month.

Wary of how the genre of the film is perceived in the market, he makes sure he spells it out, “It is in a comedy family drama space, but there is no laugh riot. It’s more like a heart-warming film,” he says.

For now, Boman Irani is the only other actor confirmed to co-star with Sharman in the film, which has been written by Rajkumar Hirani. As for the rumours that suggest either Kareena Kapoor or Katrina Kaif will play his love interest, he has no comment.

The actor, who started off doing theatre at the age of 21, is inclined to return to stage, but is waiting for an interesting offer to come along. “Whenever I get an opportunity to be part of a good script, I would surely like to do theatre. But nothing really exciting has come so far,” says the actor, who enjoys film as much as the stage.

Meanwhile, his recent decision to sign on as an ambassador for a cola product has created a bit of a stir around him. Considering all other actors who have, in the past, endorsed or are currently the face of similar brands happen to be A-listers — Ranbir Kapoor, Aamir Khan, Shah Rukh Khan, Salman Khan, Akshay Kumar and Imran Khan — the question everyone’s asking him is whether he too has entered the big league.

“I leave these perceptions to people. I have had many making these deductions, but that’s normal. The only thing that concerns me is whether I, as an actor, am doing enough. If the answer is yes, I’m happy. After that any sort of perception people have is not my concern,” says Sharman, who as part of his new endorsement replaced the iconic Fido Dido in the brand, 7 Up’s, television commercial.